Thread: My razor is too sharp???? I like a duller edge??

Originally Posted by hi_bud_gl

What else will improve cutting efficiency? cutting edge gets narrower and sharper as you go up to the grit's.
Some people may call it differently but that is the way sharpness increase.
Simple example you can get maximum edge from particular stone. Example if you get maximum sharpness from Ecsher after 100 strokes. you will not get any sharper even you make 100000 more strokes after 100 strokes?
You know why ? edge gets narrower as mush as escher can do (particular stone maximum ability) after that using escher is nonsense . if you want to get more sharper you have to use another brand better final edge putting stone .
This is what i have experienced .

There is another way of interpreting what you are experiencing.

You get maximum sharpness out of escher after 100 strokes. The edge is as narrow as the escher can get it, but this is the same narrowness as the 4k norton, 8k norton, coticule, nakayama, shapton, etc. But the bevel is as polished as the escher can get it - you have removed all significant irregularities in the bevel from the lower grit hones, and the escher just isn't polishing it any finer. If you wish to get sharper then you need to move to a hone that will leave a finer more smooth bevel on the razor that will lower the effort involved in splitting the whiskers open.

The effect of these two interpretations on the shave is exactly the same - two hones produce different levels of sharpness. The difference is in the explanation. In yours the hone produces sharpness by reducing the size of the bevel to it's minimumlevel, in mine the hone produces sharpness (beyond the 4k point) by improving the level of polish to it's smoothest level.

Since we can't tell the difference between these two theories by shaving, we must turn to another way. Like looking at them under an electron microscope to see if the edge does indeed get thinner as we move to finer grit hones, or if the level of polish does indeed improve as we move to finer grit hones.

When Dr. Verhoeven did this, he found that the edge did not get thinner past about 4k, but the level of polish and consistency of the bevel kept improving past 4k.